Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian discussed the next evolution of travel during the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show, noting that air taxis will become much more common in the coming years.
Bastian explained that air taxis are the next step in the evolution of air travel and that people will “start to see them in the sky in the next couple of years,” according to Fox Business.
The Federal Aviation Administration describes an advanced air mobility aircraft, often called an air taxi, as “aircraft that are typically highly automated, electrically powered and have vertical take-off and landing capability.”
Bastian explained that Delta has plans to introduce air taxis within the next few years that can help with travel to the airport.
Delta Air Lines partnered with Joby Aviation to develop its all-electric vertical take-off aircraft. Bastian stated that Joby has “gone through all the certification processes” needed for this project to become a reality.
“The FAA, by the way, has been a huge supporter of bringing that mobility service to the sky because they realize the issue is what’s on the ground and all the congestion that’s that’s down there,” he said, per Fox Business.
“So our ability to work with Joby really impressed with the technology. I think they are the leader in the space.”
These vehicles are incredibly quiet, have a range of roughly 100 miles, and fly at speeds of roughly 200 miles an hour, making them perfect for short trips.
“We are just a few steps from the finish line. We want to turn what are now one- and two-hour trips into five-minute trips,” said Joby Aviation JoeBen Bevirt to The Associated Press.
Although Bastian and Bevirt are optimistic about the future of air taxis in each of these companies, some experts say the technology may still need more time before being implemented into everyday life.
Alan Lim, the director of Alton Aviation Consultancy, has helped track the development of these vehicles and said that it is a “tricky business to develop a whole new class of vehicles.”
“It is going to be like a crawl, walk, run situation. Right now, I think we are still crawling. We are not going to have the Jetsons-type reality where everyone will be flying around everywhere in the next two to three years,” he explained, according to The Associated Press.
